July 2, 2020 at 12:28 p.m.
Pioneer Park Historical Complex open for summer season; new donation process announced
Pioneer Park Historical Complex open for summer season; new donation process announced
By Stephanie Kuski-
According to PPHC Director Kerry Bloedorn, masks for both staff and the visiting public are strongly encouraged, but are not required at this time. In addition, PPHC asks patrons to respect social distancing of six feet or more.
Steps have been taken to increase sanitization of frequently touched surfaces like door handles, Bloedorn added. In addition, barriers have been implemented in some buildings to restrict hands-on use of materials that patrons were previously allowed to thumb through.
"It's been a challenge inside all of our hearts and minds to reconcile wanting to be able to have that available, but also recognizing the seriousness of this pandemic," Bloedorn commented. "We want everyone that visits here to feel comfortable and safe, no matter what they think about the pandemic."
In addition, sanitizing stations are available throughout the Complex: at the front door, in the gift shop and bathrooms. Each building will also have sanitizing spray available for patrons upon request.
"We have decided, as a Complex, to limit the number of people in individual buildings by family or visiting group," Bloedorn added. "So if a group of a couple families all show up in one vehicle... we would prefer that group stick together, and they enter a building together and leave a building together. If two groups come in separate vehicles, we would prefer that they take turns in each building."
But because there are several buildings within the greater area of the open-air complex, Bloedorn said the museum poses a low risk to patrons.
Although some veteran docents did not return this season due to virus-related concerns, many buildings in the Complex feature a knowledgeable docent to provide visitors with more information, answer questions and give context to the archives on display.
There's much to be seen at the PPHC, which features seven individual museums in addition to several outdoor displays.
"One of the things I really love about this Complex is that it does have the various individual museum buildings within the Complex fencing, but each of them are interconnected," Bloedorn explained. "There's a lot of materials here that are specific to Rhinelander, but there's (also) a lot of materials here that are more general Northwoods history."
"This Complex being in Pioneer Park is a fitting setting," he continued. "Not only is this grove of pine trees the genetic vestiges of that ancient forest that was here in the Northwoods along the banks of the Pelican and Wisconsin rivers, but all of the museum buildings within the Complex harken back to these pioneering days, no matter which way you cut it."
"The Logging Museum, for instance, does have a lot of stuff about the Rhinelander mills and logging camps, but we have photographs, equipment, tools and documents from logging camps and mills from all over the Northwoods," Bloedorn explained. "So it brings all of that together in one place."
Other facets of life in the Northwoods at the turn of the century and beyond are also encapsulated in the confines of the PPHC. The Rural Schoolhouse Museum, for example, is an authentic, fully-restored one-room schoolhouse that was originally built in the early 20th century and was used in both Newbold and Pine Lake before making its final move to Pioneer Park in 1976.
"That museum is emblematic of what was happening not just in Rhinelander, not just within this region or the state or the Midwest, but across the whole country," Bloedorn said. "So you can go into that schoolhouse and there's a lot of similarities you can draw between the rural school system in Rhinelander... or elsewhere within the country. So that's really, really cool."
"The newest museum - ironically - is the antique sawmill museum, Red's Sawmill, and that opened in 2009," Bloedorn continued. "Aside from the big-time sawmills that were in Rhinelander and other communities in the area, there were also a lot of other mom-and-pop sawmills. One of those was a sawmill that was out in Enterprise. It was then bought and moved by Red Marquardt out to a place in Starks, where the Marquardt family then ran a sawmill for several decades."
"That equipment is very special, not only because it came from a small-scale sawmill, but it's the same exact equipment that would've been (used) in a large-scale sawmill," he added.
In addition, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Museum features one of the most complete collections of CCC photographs, artifacts and documents in the country.
"The CCC was this amazing program put together by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, where they needed to put people back to work after the Great Depression," Bloedorn explained. "It was one of the largest, most successful federal programs in this country's history... They built roads, they built bridges, they built dams, they ran thousands of miles of telephone and electricity lines... They did all kinds of amazing projects."
In another part of the complex, the Rhinelander Fire Equipment Museum houses two fire trucks and a fire wagon used by the Rhinelander Fire Department to fight fires within the community. That museum also houses the Belles of St Mary's exhibit, which features over two decades of photographs, music and other archives chronicling the local drum and bugle corps' reign.
Although patrons were previously allowed to peruse through old newspaper clippings and photo albums at the Belles exhibit, those items will not be accessible for the time being due to the extra precautionary measures.
Duke's Outboard Motor and Boat Museum was built by students of the Rhinelander High School building trades class with the goal of memorializing Duke Montgomery, who owned a boat and engine repair shop on Boom Lake. The exhibit is curated by his son Jim, who continues the family business to this day.
"(Duke) was a legend within the fishing and boating community," Bloedorn explained. "He was one of the first boat motor repair guys in the area in the early days of Rhinelander's resort era... That museum has some of the oldest outboard boat motors you can find anywhere on planet earth, which is pretty cool."
The Rhinelander Railroad Museum features the restored Soo Line Depot, which was located in The Hollow for many decades at the intersection of Thayer and Phillip streets. This museum also features photographs, artifacts and documents that harken back to Rhinelander's railroad days.
The Complex, located in Pioneer Park, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays and is closed Mondays.
Admission is free of charge, although donations are appreciated. In fact, earlier this week the Rhinelander Community Foundation announced a way for donors large and small to help the Pioneer Park Historical Complex.
Janet Jamison, RCF secretary, attended the June 29 PPHC Advisory Group meeting and explained how the new fund will work. Donors can either donate to the PPHC general fund, or any of the seven existing museums in the complex. If the donation is to a specific museum, matching funds from George and Sondra Juetten will go to the complex general fund.
According to an RCF press release, the Juettens will match the first $25,000 in donations to the Pioneer Park Historical Complex Fund.
Jamison noted that people have expressed a desire to donate to the PPHC but have been put off by a lack of a process to do so. Now that a system is in place, and donations will be tax deductible, this will hopefully get some donations quickly, she said.
"There has been some interest from outside sources and it would not surprise me if there is some nice donations in the next few months," Jamison told the group.
Visit the PPHC Facebook page or call (715) 369-5004 for more information on the complex.
To make a donation to the PPHC Fund, checks should be made payable to: Rhinelander Community Foundation with 'PPHC Fund' written in the memo line and mailed to: Rhinelander Community Foundation/PO Box 1523/Rhinelander, WI 54501.
Reporter Jamie Taylor contributed to this article.
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